Andrey Arshavin is reportedly close to extending his current contract at Arsenal by another year. The diminutive Russian joined the Gunners in January 2009 from Russian club Zenit for an estimated £ 15 million. The Russian has scored 18 times for the North Londoners, including all four goals in Anfield triller. The extension will see Arshavin stay at the club until 2013.

In other Arsenal related news, William Gallas and Mikael Sylvestre are expected to leave the club. “At the moment none of them have signed again for us,” Arsene Wenger told Arsenal TV Online. “At the moment there is nothing special to say about that. I believe that Gallas and Silvestre will sign somewhere else. Campbell is still in no-man’s land at the moment.”

Pic : The Telegraph

The Gunners are now merely waiting on the Premier League to sign all the necessary paperwork for the deal to be made official.

The fee was far from the initial asking price the reigning UEFA Cup winners wanted of 20 million pounds, but included a substantial performance-linked bonus.

Conflicting signals had been emerging from Arsenal’s Emirates stadium and Russia throughout the day as the 1700GMT deadline came and went and a Zenit club spokesman had even said the deal had fallen through.

The deal apparently hit a last minute snag when Zenit demanded a portion of Arshavin’s signing on fee.

But other Russia news agencies were reporting that a deal had been struck on a three-and-a half year contract.

Gazeta.ru site nnounced that Arshavin, one of the stars at Euro 2008, had passed his medical and was now an Arsenal player, inheriting the Gunners’ number 13 shirt.

He will probably not make his debut for the Gunners for a few weeks because he will have to work on physical conditioning to adapt to the rigours of the English game.

The 27-year-old was a major revelation at the Euro 2008 tournament when Russia reached the semi-finals, losing to eventual champions Spain.

Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger has on many occasions spoken of his admiration for the player.

Source: soccernews.com

Pic:  dudee.blog.friendster.com